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shh_reading85's review
adventurous
medium-paced
4.75
This was awesome. Nothing like impending doom, an end of the world survival story. I really enjoyed that the author considered the survival of the human race and set up a possibility of survival after a catastrophic event.
The practice of eugenics was incredibly thought out. Two groups of genetically modified children are raised as the hope and future of the human race. One group is placed in stasis while the other group was sent to Mars in hopes that they could return one day to Earth.
The brains of the story were Cynthia or Cyn. She was incredibly smart, although she was essentially written to be. But even as a precocious child, she was super intelligent and self-aware. But Tedo was easily the best character. He was relatable for a character which endeared me to him especially.
While this isn't a hugely science-heavy book, it is still an excellent read for science fiction.
I received a copy of this book from the author for free and I am leaving a review voluntarily.
The practice of eugenics was incredibly thought out. Two groups of genetically modified children are raised as the hope and future of the human race. One group is placed in stasis while the other group was sent to Mars in hopes that they could return one day to Earth.
The brains of the story were Cynthia or Cyn. She was incredibly smart, although she was essentially written to be. But even as a precocious child, she was super intelligent and self-aware. But Tedo was easily the best character. He was relatable for a character which endeared me to him especially.
While this isn't a hugely science-heavy book, it is still an excellent read for science fiction.
I received a copy of this book from the author for free and I am leaving a review voluntarily.
writeramyshannon's review
4.0
Incredible!
Life as you know it is ending, and only two selected groups will survive. An amazing story and Rider tells this tale as if it happened. What happens when the Martians attack? How will mankind survive? I was curious throughout the story, and kept reading to answer my questions, but also be part of the story. Terrifyingly familiar when faced with war, no matter the enemy. I really liked this story, and will continue to read Rider's work.
Life as you know it is ending, and only two selected groups will survive. An amazing story and Rider tells this tale as if it happened. What happens when the Martians attack? How will mankind survive? I was curious throughout the story, and kept reading to answer my questions, but also be part of the story. Terrifyingly familiar when faced with war, no matter the enemy. I really liked this story, and will continue to read Rider's work.
lilyn_g's review
4.0
Apophis is an entertaining and engaging read that looks at our world as it prepares for Apophis’ impact, and then the world a thousand years after that. Not ground-breaking, but definitely thought-provoking, Apophis examines both sides of the coin of the practice of eugenics and the lengths to which humans can go to survive when we’re on a countdown to destruction.
Rider easily gives you characters you can root for – and characters you can’t wait to see destroyed. The artificial intelligence is also surprisingly believable. She doesn’t give ALEC too many human traits, which a lot of science fiction authors do, and he stays completely logical. He/It is both a comforting presence, and vaguely intimidating at the same time because you witness early on that he will do whatever it takes to make sure that certain things happen. The things that he deems to be for the good of humanity. It’s not that far of a step from there to destruction. You can also get a sense of personalities developing in the other AIs that are formed that are different from ALEC, which is rather interesting, but everyone knows that a copy of a copy of a copy, etc, can end up looking quite different from the original.
Now, there was one issue that I had. It is a simple one. In the author’s world, two groups that speak English, after being separated by over a thousand years, are able to easily speak with each other. Language is constantly changing, so it’s hard to believe that there would be no issues communicating after one thousand years had passed. On a minor note, there was some wording that could be tweaked to make the story more pleasing. It’s mainly repetitious factors that weigh it down. It made the story a bit hard to get into.
Overall, this was a nice take on the post-apocalyptic science fiction tale that smartly avoids going for the ‘epic’ award like Stephenson and Robinson seem to consistently do. The science may not be as ‘hard’, but the story still carries itself very nicely.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this work free from the author in exchange for an honest review.
For this and other reviews, please visit www.scifiandscary.com.
Rider easily gives you characters you can root for – and characters you can’t wait to see destroyed. The artificial intelligence is also surprisingly believable. She doesn’t give ALEC too many human traits, which a lot of science fiction authors do, and he stays completely logical. He/It is both a comforting presence, and vaguely intimidating at the same time because you witness early on that he will do whatever it takes to make sure that certain things happen. The things that he deems to be for the good of humanity. It’s not that far of a step from there to destruction. You can also get a sense of personalities developing in the other AIs that are formed that are different from ALEC, which is rather interesting, but everyone knows that a copy of a copy of a copy, etc, can end up looking quite different from the original.
Now, there was one issue that I had. It is a simple one. In the author’s world, two groups that speak English, after being separated by over a thousand years, are able to easily speak with each other. Language is constantly changing, so it’s hard to believe that there would be no issues communicating after one thousand years had passed. On a minor note, there was some wording that could be tweaked to make the story more pleasing. It’s mainly repetitious factors that weigh it down. It made the story a bit hard to get into.
Overall, this was a nice take on the post-apocalyptic science fiction tale that smartly avoids going for the ‘epic’ award like Stephenson and Robinson seem to consistently do. The science may not be as ‘hard’, but the story still carries itself very nicely.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this work free from the author in exchange for an honest review.
For this and other reviews, please visit www.scifiandscary.com.
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